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Deadspin | OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA’s top clutch performer  Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes up for a basket beside Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images   Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner in the Clutch Player of the Year award balloting, revealed Tuesday night.  Gilgeous-Alexander received 96 of 100 first-place votes in balloting for the Jerry West Trophy. He had 484 total points, well ahead of Denver Nuggets standout Jamal Murray (117) and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (116).  Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning league MVP and is favored to win the award again this season.  But he liked receiving the Jerry West Trophy too.  “This award means a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Clutch Player award on NBC Sports. “To get this award, you have to help your team win games late and what I’m about more than anything is winning games.”  Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 points that occurred in clutch time, defined as games that were within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.   He shot 60.9% from the field (39 of 64) during clutch time and made a league-best 16 go-ahead field goals.  Fourth-place Cade Cunningham (50 points) of the Detroit Pistons received one first-place vote, fifth-place Jalen Brunson (42 points) of the New York Knicks landed two and sixth-place Nikola Jokic (37 points) of Denver received one.  This was the fourth season in which the award was given out. De’Aaron Fox (then with the Sacramento Kings) won the 2023 award, followed by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2024 and Brunson last season. Fox now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.  West was known as “Mr. Clutch” during his stellar career (1960-74) with the Los Angeles Lakers due to his many late-game exploits. He died in 2024.  –Field Level Media   #Deadspin #OKCs #Shai #GilgeousAlexander #named #NBAs #top #clutch #performer

Deadspin | OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA’s top clutch performer
Deadspin | OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named NBA’s top clutch performer  Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes up for a basket beside Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images   Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner in the Clutch Player of the Year award balloting, revealed Tuesday night.  Gilgeous-Alexander received 96 of 100 first-place votes in balloting for the Jerry West Trophy. He had 484 total points, well ahead of Denver Nuggets standout Jamal Murray (117) and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (116).  Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning league MVP and is favored to win the award again this season.  But he liked receiving the Jerry West Trophy too.  “This award means a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Clutch Player award on NBC Sports. “To get this award, you have to help your team win games late and what I’m about more than anything is winning games.”  Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 points that occurred in clutch time, defined as games that were within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.   He shot 60.9% from the field (39 of 64) during clutch time and made a league-best 16 go-ahead field goals.  Fourth-place Cade Cunningham (50 points) of the Detroit Pistons received one first-place vote, fifth-place Jalen Brunson (42 points) of the New York Knicks landed two and sixth-place Nikola Jokic (37 points) of Denver received one.  This was the fourth season in which the award was given out. De’Aaron Fox (then with the Sacramento Kings) won the 2023 award, followed by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2024 and Brunson last season. Fox now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.  West was known as “Mr. Clutch” during his stellar career (1960-74) with the Los Angeles Lakers due to his many late-game exploits. He died in 2024.  –Field Level Media   #Deadspin #OKCs #Shai #GilgeousAlexander #named #NBAs #top #clutch #performerApr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes up for a basket beside Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner in the Clutch Player of the Year award balloting, revealed Tuesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander received 96 of 100 first-place votes in balloting for the Jerry West Trophy. He had 484 total points, well ahead of Denver Nuggets standout Jamal Murray (117) and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (116).

Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning league MVP and is favored to win the award again this season.

But he liked receiving the Jerry West Trophy too.

“This award means a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Clutch Player award on NBC Sports. “To get this award, you have to help your team win games late and what I’m about more than anything is winning games.”


Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 points that occurred in clutch time, defined as games that were within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.

He shot 60.9% from the field (39 of 64) during clutch time and made a league-best 16 go-ahead field goals.

Fourth-place Cade Cunningham (50 points) of the Detroit Pistons received one first-place vote, fifth-place Jalen Brunson (42 points) of the New York Knicks landed two and sixth-place Nikola Jokic (37 points) of Denver received one.

This was the fourth season in which the award was given out. De’Aaron Fox (then with the Sacramento Kings) won the 2023 award, followed by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2024 and Brunson last season. Fox now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.

West was known as “Mr. Clutch” during his stellar career (1960-74) with the Los Angeles Lakers due to his many late-game exploits. He died in 2024.

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #OKCs #Shai #GilgeousAlexander #named #NBAs #top #clutch #performer

Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) goes up for a basket beside Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner in the Clutch Player of the Year award balloting, revealed Tuesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander received 96 of 100 first-place votes in balloting for the Jerry West Trophy. He had 484 total points, well ahead of Denver Nuggets standout Jamal Murray (117) and Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (116).

Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning league MVP and is favored to win the award again this season.

But he liked receiving the Jerry West Trophy too.

“This award means a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Clutch Player award on NBC Sports. “To get this award, you have to help your team win games late and what I’m about more than anything is winning games.”

Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 175 points that occurred in clutch time, defined as games that were within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.

He shot 60.9% from the field (39 of 64) during clutch time and made a league-best 16 go-ahead field goals.

Fourth-place Cade Cunningham (50 points) of the Detroit Pistons received one first-place vote, fifth-place Jalen Brunson (42 points) of the New York Knicks landed two and sixth-place Nikola Jokic (37 points) of Denver received one.

This was the fourth season in which the award was given out. De’Aaron Fox (then with the Sacramento Kings) won the 2023 award, followed by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in 2024 and Brunson last season. Fox now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.

West was known as “Mr. Clutch” during his stellar career (1960-74) with the Los Angeles Lakers due to his many late-game exploits. He died in 2024.

–Field Level Media

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#Deadspin #OKCs #Shai #GilgeousAlexander #named #NBAs #top #clutch #performer

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UK ambassador to UAE warns of regional risk amid fragile ceasefire<div style="--widget_related_list_trans: 'Related';"> <p>In the Gulf, the ceasefire is holding. But only just. For Edward Hobart, British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, that fragile pause is the only thing standing between contained tension and renewed escalation.</p><div> <div class="c-ad u-show-for-mobile-only"> <div class="c-ad__placeholder"> <img class="c-ad__placeholder__logo" src="https://static.euronews.com/website/images/logos/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg" width="72" height="72" alt="" loading="lazy"/> <span>ADVERTISEMENT</span> </div> </div> <div class="c-ad u-show-for-desktop"> <div class="c-ad__placeholder"> <img class="c-ad__placeholder__logo" src="https://static.euronews.com/website/images/logos/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg" width="72" height="72" alt="" loading="lazy"/> <span>ADVERTISEMENT</span> </div> </div> </div> <p>In an interview with Euronews, Hobart said that “the important thing is that there is a ceasefire still… we’re not going to resolve the war while we’re still fighting.”</p> <p>The message is blunt. Diplomacy does not begin in parallel with conflict. It follows it. And for now, the region is suspended in that narrow gap between the two.</p> <p>“I think we don’t know yet… but we hope, of course, that it’s part of the beginning step into something which brings us to a sustainable resolution.”</p> <p>Whether that hope holds depends largely on a stretch of water just 33 kilometres wide. The Strait of Hormuz is not just a regional flashpoint. It is a global pressure point, carrying a significant share of the world’s oil supply. When it closes, the consequences are immediate and far-reaching.</p> <p>“You can’t talk very easily while you’re firing missiles across the Straits of Hormuz,” Hobart said. </p> <p>That urgency is already shaping diplomatic engagement between London and Abu Dhabi, particularly in recent talks between the UK Foreign Secretary and the UAE Foreign Minister.</p> <h2>Security cooperation</h2> <p>“They obviously focused fundamentally on the current regional situation and Iran and in particular on the critical importance of getting the Straits of Hormuz open again,” according to Hobart.</p> <p>Behind that sits a broader strategic calibration. Security cooperation is being reinforced, but so too are the systems that underpin long-term resilience, from energy transition to financial security.</p> <p>“We agreed a framework of cooperation between our countries,” Hobart says, including work “not just in foreign policy and in defence, but also in AI… in the energy transition… in tackling global crime and illicit finance.”</p> <p>On the ground, that partnership has already been tested. The recent attacks were not incremental. They marked a step change, “unprecedented, unwarranted and hugely dangerous, risking lives.”</p> <p>And yet, the outcome could have been significantly worse. The UAE’s defensive systems held. “They’ve intercepted 95% of the projectiles fired at this country.”</p> <p>That figure is more than a statistic. It is a signal of preparedness, coordination, and a defence architecture functioning under pressure.</p> <p>For the UK, the response has been deliberately controlled. Support without escalation. “This wasn’t the UK’s war… but particularly in defence of the Gulf countries, we have enabled the US to help support that defence.”</p> <h2>Underlying risk</h2> <p>At the same time, the crisis has triggered a wider international alignment. Maritime security, once a technical issue, has become a geopolitical priority. “What we want is the law of the sea to be followed… these international thoroughfares… open and flowing.”</p> <p>That position is now backed by scale. “There were over 50 countries taking part… who are there to support freedom of navigation… in the Straits de Hormuz.”</p> <p>Even so, the underlying risk has not disappeared. It has been managed, not removed. “I think the risk is there… the risk is reduced while there isn’t fighting and while there is a prospect of talking.”</p> <p>For residents in the UAE, that translates into a cautious normality. Daily life continues, but with an awareness that conditions can shift quickly. “For expats that are here… at the moment you can live a pretty normal life, but you need to pay attention to what the authorities are saying.”</p> <p>That balance, between reassurance and realism, has defined the response. “I think it’s getting the balance right between a kind of calming message… but also the need to respond to a very unusual situation.”</p> <p>Zoom out, and a more structural picture emerges. The UAE operates in a region it cannot control. Its strength lies in how it responds. “The UAE can’t control the whole of that environment, so it’s about how does it flex and respond to that overall.”</p> <p>And despite the pressure, those fundamentals remain intact. “The fundamentals for the UAE haven’t changed… it also has a brilliant geography… and a business environment which is very conducive and open.”</p> <p>For now, that balance is holding.</p> </div>#ambassador #UAE #warns #regional #risk #fragile #ceasefireIran war,United Arab Emirates,Gulf,Ceasefire

The Portland Fire’s roster doesn’t include many big-name WNBA players.

One of two expansion teams to join the league this season, their roster is headlined by strong role players like Bridget Carleton, Carle Leite, and Emily Engslter, players who have never been primary options in the WNBA, and fought tooth and nail to make it.

But on Tuesday night in Portland, as streamers inundated the stands, the roster’s relative name recognition didn’t matter.

Thanks to a Sarah Ashlee-Barker game-winning putback layup, the Fire defeated the New York Liberty 98-96, toppling a veteran squad that boasts stars like Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.

Important disclaimer: the Liberty have not been healthy to begin the season; two of their most important players — Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally — are both sidelined. Still, few would have predicted that the Fire, who fell to the Chicago Sky on opening night, would come away with their first win of the season on Tuesday against.

Bridget Carleton did everything she could to ensure it would happen. The 28-year-old was selected No. 1 overall in the expansion draft, and subsequently signed a 3-year, $3.75 million maximum contract.

Some scoffed at the size of that deal — she’d never before averaged double-figures, and while she was a strong role player for the Minnesota Lynx, she appeared to be just that: a role player.

But, in Tuesday’s win, the Fire’s Carleton vision came to fruition. The Canadian sharpshooter tallied a career-high 26 points on 9-16 shooting, hitting 5 of 11 three-point attempts, while also racking up 4 steals. In her 33 minutes on the floor, the Fire outscored the Liberty by 12 points.

But the victory was far more than just Carleton’s doing.

The 22-year-old Carla Leite appears to be a rising star of her own. Leite showed flashes of potential in her rookie season on the Golden State Valkyries, but is already seeing more opportunities in Portland. She led the way with 21 points in the season opener, and followed that up with another 21-point performance on Tuesday, hitting 8 of 14 field goal attempts alongside 6 assists.

Leite’s most pivotal play came with just 27 seconds to spare, when she blew past Jonquel Jones for a clutch-time layup to tie up the ball game.

Then, it was Sarah Ashlee-Barker who quickly became a franchise hero; the second-year forward corralled Carleton’s missed three-point attempt, and beat the buzzer with the putback.

Immediately, Ashlee-Barker’s teammates piled on top of her in celebration, while the fans at Moda Center went berserk.

A Fire team that didn’t even have players just a few months ago had toppled one of the most talented squads in the WNBA.

And, the fire they played with on Tuesday night suggested it just might be the first of many big-time victories in their inaugural season.

#Portland #Fire #won #game #perfect">The Portland Fire just won their first game, and it was perfect  The Portland Fire’s roster doesn’t include many big-name WNBA players.One of two expansion teams to join the league this season, their roster is headlined by strong role players like Bridget Carleton, Carle Leite, and Emily Engslter, players who have never been primary options in the WNBA, and fought tooth and nail to make it.But on Tuesday night in Portland, as streamers inundated the stands, the roster’s relative name recognition didn’t matter.Thanks to a Sarah Ashlee-Barker game-winning putback layup, the Fire defeated the New York Liberty 98-96, toppling a veteran squad that boasts stars like Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.Important disclaimer: the Liberty have not been healthy to begin the season; two of their most important players — Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally — are both sidelined. Still, few would have predicted that the Fire, who fell to the Chicago Sky on opening night, would come away with their first win of the season on Tuesday against.Bridget Carleton did everything she could to ensure it would happen. The 28-year-old was selected No. 1 overall in the expansion draft, and subsequently signed a 3-year, .75 million maximum contract.Some scoffed at the size of that deal — she’d never before averaged double-figures, and while she was a strong role player for the Minnesota Lynx, she appeared to be just that: a role player.But, in Tuesday’s win, the Fire’s Carleton vision came to fruition. The Canadian sharpshooter tallied a career-high 26 points on 9-16 shooting, hitting 5 of 11 three-point attempts, while also racking up 4 steals. In her 33 minutes on the floor, the Fire outscored the Liberty by 12 points.But the victory was far more than just Carleton’s doing.The 22-year-old Carla Leite appears to be a rising star of her own. Leite showed flashes of potential in her rookie season on the Golden State Valkyries, but is already seeing more opportunities in Portland. She led the way with 21 points in the season opener, and followed that up with another 21-point performance on Tuesday, hitting 8 of 14 field goal attempts alongside 6 assists.Leite’s most pivotal play came with just 27 seconds to spare, when she blew past Jonquel Jones for a clutch-time layup to tie up the ball game.Then, it was Sarah Ashlee-Barker who quickly became a franchise hero; the second-year forward corralled Carleton’s missed three-point attempt, and beat the buzzer with the putback.Immediately, Ashlee-Barker’s teammates piled on top of her in celebration, while the fans at Moda Center went berserk.A Fire team that didn’t even have players just a few months ago had toppled one of the most talented squads in the WNBA.And, the fire they played with on Tuesday night suggested it just might be the first of many big-time victories in their inaugural season.  #Portland #Fire #won #game #perfect

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